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In its ‘letter regarding iPhone 4‘ Apple wrote everything but admit that there is a genuine reception issue problem with the iPhone 4. Instead, it put the blame on its sole carrier partner in the US (AT&T) by implying that users were facing dropped calls and network bars disappearing because they might be in an area with poor network reception. Judging by the number of complaints that we are reading about, it seems that would be across the country and not just some pockets.

Now why would Apple do that to its exclusive partner. Why now, after three iterations of the device have made the iPhone the most popular smartphone ever. Why now, when Apple knew since 2007 that AT&T’s network was being overwhelmed by the traffic its iPhone toting users generated and whatever the carrier did was just not enough to satiate the data guzzling smartphone?

Till now Jobs and company were content to simply smirk when people complained about AT&T. But never did they go to the extent of blaming the carrier for the poor reception quality of Apple’s “best iPhone yet.” But now they just did.

So here’s what I think: Apple is on the verge of closing a deal (or might have already inked it) with Verizon Wireless, AT&T’s closest rival that uses a competing CDMA network known for its strong reception and data throughputs. Verizon already has a robust EVDO network and is on the verge of launching an LTE network (4G) in the US.

Apple has done its bit for AT&T (and vice-versa, as it is believed that Apple first approached Verizon for the iPhone but the carrier at that time refused) and now it seems the right time to move on from their exclusive relationship. Verizon will offer Apple a new set of customers to sell the iPhone to and also offers the company a future growth path.

On Verizon, Apple could first launch an EVDO version of the iPhone later this year or early next year and tap into its millions of subscribers who just could not switch to AT&T but were dying to use an iPhone. Then, in late-2011 or early-2012, Apple can launch an LTE version and then keep adding new features just like it did with the GSM iPhone. A simple 2G version in 2007 (iPhone), a 3G version (iPhone 3G) in 2008 and progressive feature improvements in 2009 (iPhone 3GS) and 2010 (iPhone 4).

A move like that would not only give Apple a bigger addressable market in the US but also help it secure more carrier partnerships in other countries like India, where CDMA carriers are yet to get a ‘killer’ smartphone that would enable it to keep its high value customers interested in their services.